Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Jordan Minor’s “Boss Fight Books: Super Mario Galaxy” is Now Available for Pre-Order
- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Research Library- With Grand Theft Auto 6 poised to take over the world, I reached out to Jack Thompson and it did not go well – PC Gamer (2026)
- Vib-Ribbon: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (2026)
Warp Zoned Archives
Most Recent: PC
Techland goes from Dead Island straight to Project Hell

Polish developer Techland is following up its zombie hit Dead Island with a dark fantasy hack ‘n’ slash game, codenamed Project Hell. Rather than following the isometric view of the similarly dark fantasy-styled Diablo series, Techland has opted for a first person perspective. The game will be set in the time period when Europeans practiced pagan rituals at the same time they allegedly converted to Christianity.
Project Hell originated after some of Dead Island’s development team began experimenting with the weapon mechanics of their zombiefest. Beginning life as a Dead Island mod, one hopes it plays better than that title, given that it’s more famous for its trailer by Axis Animation than the game itself. It does appear that Techland has recognised this, by creating a development blog, Sharpen Your Axes!, which will allow gamers to comment on the progress and direction of the game. It is the developer’s hope that this open collaboration will help improve the quality of the title.
Project Hell is currently only in development for PC, but Techland has stated that it will look to port it to consoles if successful. The company also promised there will be no unicorns. This is “dark” fantasy after all.
Home is where the Hearthfire is in Skyrim this September
Bethesda will be bringing elements of domestic bliss to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim with “Hearthfire,” a newly announced add-on for the already massive RPG. The DLC will be available to download first on Xbox Live on September 4 for 400 Microsoft Points ($5). PC and PS3 versions will presumably come later.
Rather than a full-fledged expansion, “Hearthfire” adds a little bit of Minecraft and The Sims to the world of Skyrim. Players will be able to purchase a plot of land and build the house of their dreams (or the shack of their dreams, if that’s what they prefer). Fans of Curb Appeal and Trading Spaces can further decorate their new abode with furniture and knick-knacks built using the new crafting table feature.
And once they have a threshold to walk over, players can even move in their spouse and adopt (and raise) children. Let’s just hope they don’t get eaten by a giant…
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
New Releases: Madden NFL 13, Ratchet & Clank Collection, God of War Saga, More

Summer is almost over, but that just means there’s still one more week for publishers to put out a few more Summer games.
An August tradition, this week’s biggest new release is Madden NFL 13. The EA Sports mainstay will make it to the Xbox 360, PS3, Vita, and Wii this week, with a Wii U version scheduled for release later this year.
Also available this week is a quartet of Sony-published PS3 collections including the Ratchet & Clank Collection (which is available on the PS3 for the first time), the God of War Saga, the InFamous Collection, and the Journey: Collector’s Edition.
Finally, peripheral maker Mad Catz has jumped into the game publishing business with Damage Inc: Pacific Squadron WWII for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
Wait, I almost forgot one… Sandman: Whispered Stories, a budget PC title, is also new in stores this week.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Madden NFL 13, Ratchet & Clank Collection
Harmonix is gearing up for a next-gen “combat game”

Harmonix, a company best known for its musical franchises, such as Rock Band and Dance Central, is apparently moving in a brand new direction for its next title. A job advertisement on Gamasutra shows the company is actively seeking a “Combat Designer to create real-time, single-player combat experiences for a brand new IP on next-generation hardware.”
The ad is also seeking someone who can create “robust combat AI systems for minor and major combat encounters,” which certainly sounds a world away from the musical titles that have made the company’s name. Although never fear, Harmonix still needs to butter their bread and is rumored to be working on a pair of as-yet-untitled music projects for both the 3DS and PS Vita.
Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 Review: Welcome Back Tycho and Gabe

Someday, songs will be written about the development of Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3. In the nearly four years since the release of Episode Two, the third game in Penny Arcade’s episodic RPG series underwent both a developer and art-style change in its journey to a download service near you. Gone are the Gabe-inspired character designs and modern graphics of the previous episodes. In their place are the 16-bit stylings of Zeboyd Games and a part three that, at times, feels like both a brand new game and a continuation of the adventure thus far. (more…)
Posted in PC, Reviews, Top Story, Xbox 360
Tagged Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3
Diablo I and II creator has social media fight with Blizzard devs
David Brevik, creator of Diablo and Diablo II, expressed some of his feelings on Diablo III to IncGamers during Gamescom.
“I have very mixed emotions about it. On one hand I am sad that people haven’t enjoyed Diablo because it’s a love, a passion, and it’s obvious people still have a giant love and passion for Diablo… That makes me feel great.
I am sad because people are outraged and… some of the decisions they have made are not the decisions I would make, and there have been changes in philosophy and that hasn’t gone over very well…
I am also a little happy… I hate to say, [but] it shows that the people that were involved in Diablo really did matter, and so I am happy that it has come to light that how talented that group was, how unique and special… when the people leave the game changes, and it shows how critical people are in this industry.”
So basically, to me, what he’s saying is: they made some design choices I wouldn’t have, and people are upset, and while that is a bummer, I am actually sort of pleased, because it means that what I built, and what I made, was important and meant something. Right? General idea?
Well, some of the Diablo III devs were pretty hurt over it, and had a public exchange via Facebook (which was captured by Reddit). Click the image above to enlarge it and cringe a bunch.
Since this argument needed more social media avenues, former Diablo II producer Mark Kern jumped in on Twitter: “Gotta say, that Jay Wilson, never having been at Blizzard for D1 and D2 and never having met Dave Brevik, has no place to say what he did. Dave Brevik created 2 genre-busting, award winning, world-loved Diablo games. Jay Wilson has done ____ with Diablo 3. Fill in the blanks. Blizzard arrogance has reached new heights.”
Facebook and Twitter have made it easier than ever for people to stick their feet directly into their mouths. Do not pass go, do not reach Paragon level.
[Source: IGN]
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Diablo III
Blizzard revamps Diablo III endgame with “Paragon” system
For people who are still playing Diablo III – not just playing it, but grinding themselves into dust by leveling up half a dozen characters to level 60 – is there any hope for you once you hit that ceiling? Do you find yourselves kicking the dust around, wishing you could increase your Magic Find to 300% without swapping gear mid-fight?
First of all, I didn’t even know people did that until I read about the new Paragon system. But how does the new Paragon system – which goes 100 levels past level 60 – work, exactly?
Well, first of all, any experience gained past level 60 counts towards Paragon levels, each of which will reward you with “Core stats such as Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Vitality in amounts similar to what you’d gain from a normal level” as well as “3% Magic Find and 3% Gold Find.” In case you didn’t feel like doing the math, that caps you off at 300% Magic Find and Gold Find.
For all the gruesome details, check this blog post at Battle.net. If you’re not a hardcore Diablo III player, most of it will seem like jargon. But if you are, and 60 levels wasn’t enough for you, you just hit the jackpot.
Blizzard plans to reveal more about the Paragon system, including a launch date, soon.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Diablo III
OnLive purchased by Lauder Partners; most employees laid off
To say it’s been a lively weekend at OnLive, the three-year-old cloud gaming service provider, would be a gross understatement.
On August 17, all 150-200 employees were called to a sudden meeting led by company founder and CEO Steve Perlman. During that meeting, Perlman told everyone that due to financial difficulties, the company would dissolve and they were being laid off immediately. Yet shortly thereafter, job offers were made to many of the same employees (believed to be around 20%) from a new company called… OnLive.
Confused? Seems that OnLive has filed an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC), which is an alternative to bankruptcy that transfers the assets of the insolvent company to another (called the Assignee). The Assignee is then responsible for satisfying creditors, either by restructuring the company or selling assets. The Assignee in this case is a newly formed company that is using the original OnLive name, and is allegedly owned by a single investor in the form of venture capitalist firm Lauder Partners.
So why go through all this? The ABC shoves original investors and shareholders to the back of the line, effectively wiping out their investments. This means stock granted to employees is now worthless, and smartphone manufacturer HTC has lost its $40 million investment. There is speculation that this was all done to reduce the company’s liability to make it more attractive to potential buyers – despite the fact that Perlman had turned down several offers from companies like HP and Sony because their offers were too low (allegedly, OnLive was holding out for at least $1 billion).
Of course, the company could truly be in trouble and need creditor protection. Although OnLive boasts of having 2.5 million subscribers with an “active” base of 1.5 million, Joystiq is reporting an inside source that claims the average number of concurrent users during peak periods is only 1800 – not exactly an impressive (or profitable) number if true. The same source also indicated that Perlman is planning to launch patent lawsuits against competitors like Gaikai, which was recently acquired by Sony.
As for OnLive customers, they currently have nothing to worry about. There was no disruption to the service, which continues to operate normally. However, these strange moves will certainly do little to attract new customers, or boost existing customer confidence. We at WarpZoned will keep you updated as this bizarre drama continues to unfold.







